Arafat Approved Reforms Just As Tanks Rolled in

Yasser Arafat approved a sweeping package of reforms - setting a deadline for holding elections and establishing financial accountability - just 48 hours before President Bush declared that the Palestinian leader and his government must go, the Guardian has learned.

The "100-day reform plan" was presented to Mr Arafat on Sunday, and copies were faxed to US and EU missions on Monday, the day the programme was to be presented to the Palestinian cabinet for approval, Palestinian officials and diplomats said.

Instead, Israeli tanks reoccupied Ramallah early on Monday, the cabinet meeting was cancelled, and on Tuesday President Bush declared that the Palestinian administration was tainted by terror, and Washington would never support a Palestinian state so long as Mr Arafat was leader.

"When the Palestinian people have new leaders, new institutions and new security arrangements with their neighbours, the US will support the creation of a Palestinian state," Mr Bush said.

However, Palestinian cabinet ministers argue that they were embarked on precisely that project when the Israeli tanks rolled into Ramallah on Monday, and that if President Bush were sincere in his desire to see change in the Palestinian Authority, he should have at least given the reforms a chance and called for an Israeli withdrawal.

The detailed plan, a copy of which has been obtained by the Guardian, addresses several American and Israeli concerns, including the charge that Mr Arafat has done almost nothing to stop suicide bombings in Israel, or "incitement" against Israel. It condemns attacks against Israeli civilians, and "renounces fanaticism in the educational curricula".

It was the product of an eight-member committee of the Palestinian cabinet, appointed by Mr Arafat on June 12. Half were new members of the government, reflecting the pressures on the Palestinian leader from his own people to institute real change.

The proposals call for the re-organisation of the Palestinian security forces under a single authority, the ministry of the interior, and for all foreign aid and loans to be overseen by a single authority in the finance ministry, and for strict auditing of government enterprises.

They also demand the building of court houses and modern prisons, the appointment of judges, and the drafting of legislation.

However, the most convincing aspect of the package is the timetable for reforms, and a two-month deadline for the restructuring of the security services, and the financial ministries. It calls for presidential and legislative elections to be held by January 2003.

"On Sunday, we had a very long meeting with Mr Arafat in which we went through every single word" of the proposal, said Ghassan Khatib, whose appointment as labour minister earlier this month was seen as a gesture to Palestinian demands for good governance. "Finally, he approved it, and we convinced him to convene the cabinet on Monday in order not to waste time. But the next day, there was an Israeli invasion and curfew."

Mr Khatib argues that the package met all the demands of Palestinians for reform - setting a schedule for presidential, legislative and municipal elections, and introducing financial transparency for Palestinian government enterprises and the security services. But the Israeli army's re-occupation of seven West Bank towns and President Bush's speech - which Palestinians see as one-sided in its support for Israel - make it politically impossible to pursue the reform agenda, he said.

In the West Bank and Gaza, Palestinians were furious that Mr Bush made no mention of Israel's re-occupation of the West Bank, and exerted no pressure on the hardline prime minister, Ariel Sharon, to withdraw. "If we talk about reforms now, the people will think it's a joke," Mr Khatib said.

However, other prominent Palestinians were cynical, saying that Mr Arafat and his cronies have never been genuine in their support for reform, and would now exploit President Bush's speech to ward off change.

"This will fix the traditional and corrupt leadership among the Palestinians forever because traditionally we react against their will," said Hussam Khader, a maverick member of the Palestinian legislature.

Hanan Ashrawi, a reformist-minded member of the Palestinian legislature, also had doubts about Mr Arafat's sincerity, and noted that lawmakers had yet to meet to ratify his new cabinet, although they were supposed to convene by the end of this month.

As for Mr Arafat, he brushed aside the calls for a new leadership from Mr Bush, telling reporters yesterday: "He spoke about a Palestinian state and elections, and we consider our state will be democratic with the coming elections."

But the overwhelming impression among both Israelis and Palestinians yesterday was that Mr Bush had merely endorsed the strategy that Mr Sharon had been pursuing since last December - the removal of Mr Arafat - and had little genuine interest in encouraging good governance for the Palestinians.

"This whole discussion is a distraction, and it is meant to be a distraction," said Mustafa Barghouti, a spokesman for a new reform group, the Palestinian National Initiative. "We should be talking about creating the proper conditions for elections, like the removal of Israeli troops, and an international presence on the ground to guarantee free elections."

Israeli newspaper commentators were even more direct. "The mouth was President Bush's, but the hand that wrote the speech was Ariel Sharon's," Nahum Barnea wrote in Yedioth Ahronoth, Israel's largest newspaper. He suggested that Mr Bush register for membership in the rightwing Likud party.